Boston Marathon Explosions|Kill Three Injure at Least 130

(CN) - A series of explosions killed three people and wounded at least 130 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon this afternoon.

At least two explosions were set off near the finish line just before 3 p.m., one apparently inside the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. There were also reports of a third explosion about an hour later at JFK Presidential Library and Museum, about 3 miles away from the first site, but it turned out to be an unrelated fire. There were no reported injuries from that blast.

After President Barack Obama spoke about the attacks Friday evening, authorities put the death toll at three, including an 8-year-old boy. There are reportedly more than 100 people injured, many of them seriously. Some media reported traumatic injuries such as severed limbs.

Police said the explosions were "controlled," and that they found two undetonated improvised explosive devices in the area. They said the IEDs had been packed with ball bearings to cause maximum injury.

Chris Cassidy, a Boston Herald reporter who was running in the marathon, told his newspaper he saw two explosions.

"The first one was beyond the finish line," Cassidy told the Herald. "I heard a loud bang and I saw smoke rising. I kept running and I heard behind me a loud bang. It looked like it was in a trash can or something. That one was in front of Abe and Louie's. There are people who have been hit with debris, people with bloody foreheads."

A spectator who identified himself as John Ross gave the Herald gruesome details.

"Somebody's leg flew by my head," Ross told the Herald. "I gave my belt to stop the blood."

Video of the scene shows smoke-filled streets, people fleeing and fire blazing into the street.

The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel sits on Boylston Street near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race course. At the time of the blasts, the race was in its fifth hour, with slower competitors still approaching the finish line.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit